Eleventh-grade students from throughout the county came together at the Battle Creek Area Math & Science Center (BCAMSC) over the last several months to plan and implement a fun-filled STEM Day event aimed at engaging elementary students. After months of planning, the school hosted fourth-graders from Fremont International Academy this Thursday, May 26.
Lakeview junior Jonathan Calderon participates as a representative on the school's advisory council and said one of their main goals is to promote STEM interest and outreach in the community. One of the key takeaways they want the elementary students to walk away with, Calderon shared, is the concept of trial and error. "There's a lot more than just one interpretation in science," he said, "there are multiple ways to solve a problem, and the only way we can discover new and better ways is by continuing to try."
"The main premise of this event is we want to really interact with the kids and make sure they're having fun while they're learning," Calderon added. To add to the fun, the BCAMSC students also set up a storyline that they shared with the students in which bandits had stolen ice cream, and by completing each of the stations, the young students would have an opportunity to unlock the stash of ice cream to enjoy a treat at the end of the day. "Of course, everyone is going to get ice cream," he said, "but it's just to get the kids motivated."
Bellevue junior Kyle Birk led a station where students worked in groups to build boats and then test how much weight they could hold while remaining afloat inside a fish tank. "The whole idea is to get the students thinking creatively and giving them a chance to really engineer and build something," he said.
Lakeview junior Dominic Hammond led students in creating their own lava lamps. While the activity is fun and hands-on, he said he also really wanted the students to see and understand that science exists everywhere around us and that simply asking questions is the start of every experiment. Hammond used magnets to help students visualize why water and oil molecules repel each other, explaining why the two substances don't mix, and said it was amazing to see how many of the students came very close to coming up with the right answer on their own. "It might be surprising to a lot of people that fourth graders can actually understand chemistry," he said, "but I believe that children aren't necessarily less intelligent than other people, they just haven't had the same experiences."
BCAMSC STEM Education Director Luke Perry added that the event was not only great for the Fremont students, but also served as a great way for the BCAMSC students to get actively engaged in their learning. "I don't think I've seen my students as excited and engaged as they were today," Perry said. "They get to both show off what they do and also have a chance to have fun with and introduce it to a young person who is excited to learn about what they have to share."
After seeing how successful the event was, Calderon said they are hopeful the event will become a new annual tradition at the Math and Science Center. "This year was a pretty good test run and we'd love to see it continue to improve and improve and continue to include more schools," he said. In fact, by the end of the event, several students were already asking if they'd be able to come back next year.
During the event, each group of fourth-graders was matched up with a BCAMSC "buddy" that talked with and mentored them throughout the day. At the end of the day, the buddies each shared their school email addresses with the students so that they could continue to send any questions or discoveries they may come up with as they learn and explore over the summer.
Fremont fourth-grader Alayna Patterson said she had fun learning about how things connect, making lava lamps, and going into the planetarium to learn about constellations." However, her favorite part (besides the ice cream) was getting to meet and learn from older students. "I got to know lots of older kids and they really were fascinated about our school at Fremont," she said. "They really enjoyed having us and we enjoyed getting to come spend time with them."
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